NBA Notebook: No longer 'The Franchise,' Francis struggles to adjust

NBA NOTEBOOKDon't be shocked if suspension gets ex-Rocket rolling

Published 6:30 am, Sunday, January 15, 2006

Steve Francis was terrific as "The Franchise" in Houston. He was fresh and exciting as "Steve-O" in Orlando. He played the part and lived the life and was good at it.

But there was always something missing, something that is supposed to come with being the man. He could be the star, charismatic and charming, and blessed with sensational talent. But he still has not mastered being the simple, everyday pro.

He could do the spectacular but not the simple. He could be thrilling in games but not reliably on time to practice. In the biggest games, he would sparkle. In an empty arena in Atlanta, he could not ignite a spark.

So Francis has been asked to be the everyday pro — and has been unable to play the part.

This came to a head last week when, with the Magic down 16 points with roughly three minutes left, Hedo Turkoglu fouled out and Francis was told to go back in the game. Francis refused.

Superstars don't play garbage time, and Francis always had been treated as a superstar.

He was suspended for the last two games of the road trip. He will meet with Magic coach Brian Hill and assistant general manager Otis Smith on Monday.

But the problem seems to be more than another bad decision.

Francis has had those, from famously skipping a Rockets flight to Phoenix because it fell on Super Bowl Sunday, to blowing off practice after the All-Star break last season when it fell on his birthday.

He is so likable he always could move on. Hill, like Jeff Van Gundy before him, insists he really likes Francis, which makes sense because Francis is above all likable.

But this seems to be the result of Francis finding himself in a different role, far from being "The Franchise."

The Magic will become about Dwight's Howard's growth. But since Dec. 30, when backup Jameer Nelson played the entire fourth quarter of a Magic rout of the Timberwolves, Francis has seemed relatively disinterested. He has rarely looked to take the ball inside or even looked for his own shot.

Always a tough fighter of a player, he has seemed dispassionate.

In the six games prior to the suspension, Francis averaged 11.5 points and took an average of just 9.3 shots. He scored in double figures just once in that stretch. He was averaging 17.9 points before those six games.

Wednesday, he played just 27 minutes, his low this season, scoring 10 points with six turnovers.

The suspension could be the best thing for him. He was never more reliable, more professional, in his one season with Van Gundy than after the Super Bowl suspension.

He will come back, probably Wednesday against his hometown team, the Washington Wizards, with all kinds of attention to his play. As always, with the attention focused and the pressure on, Francis responds.

But when that passes, the time has come to be the everyday pro.

Games of the week

•
Rockets
— Wednesday vs. Dallas. The Mavericks return to
Toyota Center
for the first time since last season's playoffs.
•
NBA
— Thursday, Detroit at New York. There are a bunch of good ones this week, including another of those silly
Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant
get-togethers. But with the
Knicks
rolling, the team that defines rolling goes to New York to catch up with
Larry Brown
.

Two views of Kobe

When Kobe Bryant goes on one of these scoring binges, the analysis of how often he shoots and what it really means usually follows. This is generally nonsense, as if Bryant is playing at the Y and the other guys aren't having enough fun.

But when Bryant went for 45 or more in four consecutive games — a run only Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor have had — his teammates seemed more amazed than annoyed by the display.

After the most amazing game of the run, when Bryant finished off the Clippers with a 10-foot, back-in sideways-fade jumper with half the Clippers defending him, Lamar Odom did not seem to mind being a spectator.

"For a time there, it was like he was on the court by himself," Odom said. "I don't know. It's like God put Kobe here for us to watch him play basketball. You could tell he's close to God.

"He's incredible, that dude."

He seemed sincere.

Coach Phil Jackson offered a bit of a harrumph, but did not quite drift into criticism.

"That's not what basketball is about," Jackson said. "Basketball is about playing as a team and finding a functioning level. When it doesn't produce wins, that's the fine line.

"And then players have to be playing spontaneously, with the freedom and they also have to feel like they're a part of it. If they are, then they play at a better level."

Bryant said he will function well enough on either side of that line for everyone.

"That's not a line that I have to walk anymore," he said. "If they need me to put points on the board, I do that. If I'm double-teamed, triple-teamed, I don't have anything rolling, I kick the ball out to my shooters."

Riley's world

Pat Riley's
contract extension last month did not specify whether he will serve as Heat coach, president, or both. Basically, he'll decide when he gets around to it.

Until then, everyone else is on a need-to-know basis.

"What I said, there's some truth to that, and maybe there might not be any truth to that," Riley said of his coaching next season. "However you want to deal with it, deal with it.

"The important thing is now. I'm here and I'm coaching. I'm going to coach and do the best job I can do, and that's it."

It's a team game

The improvement in the
Utah Jazz
would seem to be that
Andrei Kirilenko
is healthy. That's partially true: The Jazz are 15-5 when Kirilenko starts, 4-12 when he doesn't.

But beyond that, the Jazz are playing better not just because Kirilenko is playing but because he is playing the way Jerry Sloan has wanted him to — as another part of his offensive machine who takes over games with all those other talents.

"I think they do (believe) now," Sloan said. "I think they believe in what we're doing, that by working together we can get good shots and win games. We've tried it the other way. Our players thought that was the way we needed to play and we tried to do crazy things instead of executing and trying to make the play work.

"The biggest thing is we had confidence in each other. If we pass to the open man, we'll get a good shot. These guys are excited about winning. They're excited about playing and pulling for each other.

"We didn't have that two weeks ago. We didn't have all our players (due to injury). Now we have a little bit of an idea of when our guys will play. Before it was potluck."

Pierce happy with Boston

The
Paul Pierce
trade rumors don't make much sense. Someone asked Pierce how he would feel if the
Celtics
considered trading him, he answered, and that turned into the Celtics looking to deal him.

The Celtics don't need to get younger. They are the third-youngest team in the league. They just need those young players to get better, as they likely will. Trading Pierce would be a major step back, unless he is exchanged for another player to build around.

As for Pierce, he seemed to be trying to talk without saying much.

"If I'm approached with it, of course I'm going to be open," Pierce said. "I mean, its a business. If the Celtics come to me ... but it's not a situation where I'm going to go to the Celtics. I love being here. I've been here my whole career, and I told y'all before, if I could stay with one team my entire career that's what I would want to do.

"What you've got to understand is I'm frustrated with losing, just like everybody else. But I came into this season with the mindset that maybe we might be a young, growing team with our inconsistencies. I didn't expect us to be at this record, but I expected the inconsistencies."

This one doesn't paint

Sonics forward
Rashard Lewis
was asked last week about his interest in playing for the U.S. national team or, more specifically, if he had spoken to
Jerry Colangelo
. Lewis asked "Who?"

Told that Colangelo was the national team managing director, Lewis responded, "Michelangelo?"

Not quite, but the confusion is understandable with Colangelo extending one finger to touch the finger of those selected.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com

Rant of the week: Superstar means rising to great heights every night

SO we had our big showdown between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Bryant made the late shots. The Lakers won. And we're supposed to draw conclusions, just as we will when Bryant faces Shaquille O'Neal again this week.

But what makes them great is what makes the entire exercise stupid. It's not what they do in one game on national television. Lots of NBA players can be great on occasion.

They are only great players if they do it not on the one night we measure them, but on the next night. And the night after that. And when we're looking somewhere else.